Re: Arctic Hawk vs. CHes.

Posted by Howard on Mar 10, 2006

i have built both of these boats and they are both great paddling machines that have their distinct personalities

my experience is that the arctic hawk ran about 200 hours....or about 2 1/2 times what it took me to build the 17. lots of thinking time in there and sorting out and rehearsing steps.

now for some perspective on that. the arctic hawk was the 5th boat i have built. i was absolutely determined to finish it with the highest level of bright finish...which means basically no mistakes along the way.

while i have heard of folks building the arctic hawk as a first boat....i do think i learned a lot from the previous building experience on simpler boats which gave me the confidence and ability to get it right. the other boats also gave me a much better feel for how the wood handled and bent, what it was like to work with the epoxy, make fillets, drill a clean hole, and what it really meant to get a good wet out with no bubbles or floating of the glass. i also learned a lot about just how much attention it took to keep things clean and avoid contamination and other little blemishes. given that the clc 17 looks great with a paint job, most of my learnings on that first boat were nicely hidden on the inside the hull or behind the paint.

despite the more extensive manual, there are a lot of tricky bits to the arctic hawk construction. if i were a betting man, i suspect the average first time builder who goes for a hawk doesn't get it perhaps as right as they would want to compared to a first time builder of the clc 17.

that being said, i suppose if you are very patient and have a good sense of what you are trying to accomplish...you can get it done.

good luck

howard

In Response to: Arctic Hawk vs. CHes. 17 by Tim Clark on Mar 2, 2006

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